Weāve been the beer served at IPNC for a number of years. Iāll be pouring beer on Friday and Saturday afternoon, as well as at the Salmon Bake Saturday evening and at Passport on Sunday. If anyone is around, stop by and say hi.
See you there. I am travelling with a couple of local Berserkers who have full weekend pass. I waited too long to get that so I only managed to get tickets to Salmon Bake and the grand tasting on Sunday. Super stoked to be coming and even better to know there will be Heater Allen Beersā¦
There are still tickets for the Salmon Bake and the tasting on Sunday if folks are looking for tickets.
BTW: Anyone else going and want to get together? Our California group will be staying in Mcminnville for the duration of the event.
If you mean that the highest bidders get in, Nope. There is a requirement that they supply a certain amount of wine and they may be asked to participate in the seminars. From what I understand, wineries apply to participate and a committee decides who is in. Wineries that havenāt participated recently are usually favored. In Oregon there are enough wineries that want to participate that they generally have a rotation (in one year, out the next one or two years). Selection may also depend on the focus of the yearās events. This year thereās a focus on sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir, so I suspect that wineries with a sparkling program are more likely to get invited.
Not meaning to hijack the thread, but maybe I am. Iām surprised no one here seems to talk about the Celebrate Walla Walla event, starting next Thursday. A similar, perhaps smaller lineup of events but great fun and often educational. Each year they focus on a different red varietal, Syrah (this year), Merlot or CS. And the price is a bargain.
Are there any threads about it here? If you search for IPNC, Iām sure youāll find dozens of threads and first hand accounts. I attended IPNC for several years and posted about my experiences. If youāre going, perhaps you could post about it afterwards?
Wouldnāt it be all massive corporate wineries then? Heck even Meiomi might even try to sneak in. Selling out to the highest bidder isnāt how Amy works. Her and Davidās winery is about as opposite of Serene as you can get. Although Iām sure they would welcome some extra cash as paying for two college tuitions isnāt cheapš
I know it would not be highest bidder but I assume a small fee to cover expenses and some go to the charity. Pouring wine at these I would assume is not cheap either as there will be a lot of people attending. I would imagine putting this on costs a lot of money and it is not cheap to attend as a consumer.
I strongly suspect that the value of the wine that is contributed far exceeds any monetary payment, if there is one. Wineries need to contribute wine for the main event tasting and the Passport tasting - both have around 1,000 people. They also contribute a certain amount of wine to be put away for future events and the seminars, and other wines (primarily whites) to be served at the event. The way I understand things, all the wine served at all the events is contributed by the wineries or was contributed in past years.
I think the question of whether the event is ācheapā or not depends on your point of view. I think that a ticket to the entire event is a bargain, as is a ticket to Passport. The Salmon Bake is, IMO, overpriced, but it is a ticket to the biggest party in McMinnville all year (that, plus an opportunity to taste a ton of once-in-a-lifetime wines brought by other party-goers). I think itās hard to understand the value of these events unless you attend them.
The winery fee for the āPassportā event is $1750 and then on top of that, we provide 4 to 6 cases of wine for the event. Wineries that have never participated must submit samples along with the interest form to the selection committee (veterans to the event need not, which is interesting IMO). At any rate, that a pretty high cost for a small (<1,000 case) wineryā the ROI is hard to gauge but likely worthwhile in the long run?
David, the information on the IPNC website makes it sound like the same wines are poured during the Alfresco tastings during the weekend and the Passport sessions on Sunday. Is it possible to only pour on Sunday? If what you describe is the cost to pour to both events, I donāt think thatās unreasonable, particularly since I would guess that it includes a ticket to the event.